LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO LIVE AUDIO TICKETS BRACKETKATY, Texas – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team defied all odds to claim the No 7 seed at the Southland Conference Tournament and will face No. 6 McNeese State at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Katy, Texas.
The Colonels (10-22, 6-12 SLC) enter the tournament with a ton of momentum after a dominant regular-season finale win over Southeastern La. on Senior Day allowed Nicholls to sneak into the postseason.
Less than two weeks ago the Colonels were all but out of the tournament picture, but despite seemingly impossible odds, they refused to quit. Nicholls avenged a lopsided loss at New Orleans by downing the Privateers on Feb. 29 at home. The Colonels then drove to Conway and defeated Central Arkansas to pick up their first road victory in 362 days. Saturday's win over the Lions marked the first three-game winning streak for the Colonels since last season and set up a rubber match with the Cowboys (9-19, 7-11 SLC).
Nicholls earned a 71-56 victory over McNeese when the teams met back on Feb. 6 in Thibodaux, but the Cowboys captured a buzzer-beating 71-69 win on Feb. 27 in Lake Charles. McNeese holds a 51-36 edge in the all-time series against Nicholls.
The Colonels averaged 70 points and held the Cowboys to 63.5 over their two meetings. Nicholls shot 49.1% from the floor and 34.4% from three-point range, while holding McNeese to 35.8% and 32.6% respectively. The Colonels posted a dominant +12.0 rebounding margin, but surrendered a -7.5 turnover margin against the Cowboys.
Liam Thomas, who was named to the Southland Conference All-Defensive Team and an All-Southland Honorable Mention selection on Monday, averaged 11.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.0 blocks against McNeese this season.
Adam Ward averaged 11.0 points, 7.0 boards and 1.5 blocks over the series.
Johnathan Bell and
Quinton Thomas each averaged 9.5 points against the Cowboys, while grabbing 3.5 and 4.5 rebounds respectively.
Ja'Dante' Frye paces Nicholls offensively with 12.5 points per game this season, while averaging 4.7 boards and 1.1 assists.
T.J. Carpenter leads the Colonels with 5.4 rebounds per game, and is second in average points (11.9) and assists (2.6). Carpenter earned All-Southland Honorable Mention honors for the second consecutive year on Monday.
Liam Thomas averages 8.7 points, 5.2 boards, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 assists on the season. Thomas set the single-game blocks record with eight rejections against New Orleans. He also flew past the single-season blocks record of 61, set by Ron Smith during the 1987-88 season. Thomas has already swatted 81 shots this year and will look to add to that total as the Colonels enter the postseason. Most impressive, he set the career blocks record, exceeding the mark of 146, set by Cedric Robinson who played between 1982 and 1986. With the conference tournament and his senior year still to be played, Thomas already has 159 blocks in his career.
James Harvey averaged 16 points and Craig McFerrin averaged eight rebounds against Nicholls this season. Jamaya Burr leads McNeese offensively with 15.2 points and 3.6 assists per game overall. McFerrin averages 8.0 rebounds on the year.
The Colonels will battle the Cowboys, with the winner set to face No. 3 Sam Houston State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
For the first time, all rounds of the men's tournament will be televised. The first and second rounds along with the semifinals will be available on ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra, while the championship game will be covered exclusively ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The selection show is Sunday, March 13 at 4:30 p.m., CT, on CBS.
This is the ninth consecutive year for the event to be played in Katy. For tickets call 985.448.4790 or email
Tyler Knowles at
tyler.knowles@nicholls.edu.
For complete information about the tournament, visit Southland.org/katy.
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls men's basketball.
